Just a guy, with more pens and ink than he'll need in a lifetime. Instagram @ukfountainpens.

Luminous and limited: the Kaweco Art Sport

I’ve owned a Kaweco Sport. I own an AL Sport. And thanks to fortuitous availability at a pen shop in Spain, I can now say that I own an Art Sport too, in the purest alabaster finish. Despite said pen being discontinued for at least three years and out of stock everywhere else I’ve looked.

Bling.

In one sense, this is every Sport you’ve ever used. Same size, same shape, same steel nib, same finial. Even the same gift tin. It’s the quintessential pocket pen, tiny when capped, comfortable when posted.

It’s a Sport, Jim, but not as we know it.

In another sense, this is a very different beast. This cost me 90 euros, for a start: at least four times the price of a standard plastic Sport, and nearly twice the price of a metal one. That’s because it’s not cast, but turned from acrylic, and it’s exquisitely hand-finished, with a mirror polish that actually makes it feel soft.

The attention to detail on the polishing and engraving is perfect.

The acrylic is so translucent it’s practically transparent, and although incredibly difficult to photograph, in the right light it glows. Like, actually glows.

This is a beautiful material.

Out of all the Art Sport finishes — a ruby red, sapphire blue, citron yellow, graphite grey, and so on — this is the one I really wanted, and it lived up to my expectations.

You can see the nib right through the cap.

The finish and visual appeal is really something else. I’m in love with how this pen looks.

The gold finial is hard to miss.

The writing experience is exactly the same as every other Sport, however. No gold nib here. This medium nib writes OK. Unlike some other Kaweco nibs I’ve experienced, there’s no hard starting or skipping, but it’s by no means a wet writer, there’s no line variation, nothing. And that means it’s lacking in personality.

It would have been nice to get a nib upgrade too.

There are other downsides. The nib unit, plus any cartridge or converter you put in the pen, will show through the pure white acrylic as a shadow, like a monster swimming beneath the surface of a frozen lake.

The shadow of the internals puts a dampener on the beautiful material.

I’m fantasizing now about a clear feed and nib unit and eyedroppering the pen with a turquoise ink. That would look cool.

Also, the gold finial and nib I feel doesn’t work as well as a silver one would. I could easily swap out the nib, but then the finial wouldn’t match.

And I would love a simple felt or fabric sleeve included with a pen of this cost to help preserve the finish.

Perhaps most importantly, at the price and without a metal body, this pen seems kinda fragile for the style of pen it is, namely an everyday pocket pen. Which is a bit of a shame.

Bottom line: I bought this pen because I missed it the first time around, and this was my last chance to try one before they disappeared for good. I already know that I like the Sport as a pocket pen, and this pen just takes it to another level. For beauty, at least — for practicality, maybe not so much.